Digital RoundUP 11/03/2013

Digital RoundUP 11/03/2013

Facebook are at it again, once we get used to their changes on the website, they bring out another one and it takes some getting used to.

With the latest update, the whole emphasis is on ensuring that the news feed is free of clutter, but what does this mean for ad’s and sponsored posts? Will you be able to prevent those annoying posts that are irrelevant and clog up our timelines?

Looking through all the images on the site showing the redesign reminds me the simplistic design of Google+ and the whole left sidebar is almost identical to the one Google use.

http://youtu.be/YaQQHYQHnMk

Google+ Update

This week wasn’t all about the Facebook update, we were also given an update on Google+. So what modifications can we now find on Google+:

Cover Photo

The first thing you notice on your profile page is the new cover photo update, you can now get a photo up to 2,120 x 1,192 pixels. We tried this out and the whole screen was a cover image! The photo’s uploaded will have to be high quality, as they look pixelated and stretched if they are not the correct size, it might even be worth downloading a pack of high quality backgrounds to ensure that the cover photo is used effectively.

‘About’ Tab

The ‘About’ tab was really lacking detail and was way to simple in comparison to Facebook, so they updated it and this is a vast improvement, still need to work on my ‘Tagline’ though…:

This is what Sara McKinley, Google+ Product Manager, had to say about the new update:

We spend lots of time listening to your feedback, and today we’re launching some profile and page updates that you’ve been asking for. These include:

– A new tab for your Local reviews. In addition to your photos, +1’s and YouTube videos, there’s now a place for all your Local reviews. Highlight your favorite restaurants, or hide the tab completely via settings — it’s completely up to you.
– An easier way to edit your info. The ‘About’ tab now consists of separate cards (like Story, Places, and Links) — each with its own prominent edit link. As always: you can share specific fields with specific circles, or keep them just for you.
– Bigger cover photos, with a better aspect ratio. Cover photos are much larger than before (up to 2120px by 1192px), and they display in 16×9 when fully expanded. This way more images can be used as cover photos, and there’s more room for your selection to shine.

Everything’s rolling out gradually, so check back soon if you don’t see it yet. Once it’s live (at plus.google.com/me), let us know your thoughts in the comments!

What do you think of the Facebook and Google+ Updates?

Microsoft Viral Search

Microsoft announced a new research project called ViralSearch.

ViralSearch allows you to search and look through multiple users passing content on social media and distinguish between things that are not just popular but also viral in the sense they are being shared. ViralSearch is scanning across an entire social network for its data rather than traffic.

This is done by analysing news, videos, and photos shared within Twitter. It looks to see how many shares there were throughout the user base, over time.

The tool can also track contributions from single twitter users to see what kind of effect they are having on overall sharing.

ViralSearch is currently in a testing phase and the release date has yet to be announced.

Interflora – Back on Google

Interflora had its penalty from Google lifted last week, just 11 days after having the hammer brought down on them. We reported on the story in the Digital RoundUP a couple of weeks ago, Interflora had been caught building suspicious links and as a result had been effectively removed from the SERPs. It now appears the guys and girls at Interflora have made friends with Google again and are back in the SERPs for their brand name and major search terms, maybe they sent Matt Cutts a nice bouquet.